


not flying solo

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Series: FullmoonFiclet Entries [66]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Werewolves exist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:06:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9674084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: When Stiles asks, it’s not really a question. He only throws the idea out, and immediately dismisses it as something crazy, something he isn’t considering.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Full Moon Ficlet](http://fullmoon-ficlet.livejournal.com/465331.html) challenge on Livejournal - prompt #210: favor

When Stiles asks, it’s not really a question. He only throws the idea out, and immediately dismisses it as something crazy, something he isn’t considering. 

“I can do that,” Derek says, and Stiles spins around to face him.

“What?”

“What?”

“You… what?” 

They stare at each other for a few moments, and Stiles starts wondering if he just imagined Derek’s response to his rambling. 

“You wanted me to help,” Derek says eventually, and he shrugs his shoulders. “I can help that way.”

“Dude,” Stiles breathes out, and he ignores Derek’s frown. “I meant like, help me come up with an excuse for not going to Beacon Hills. And I’m pretty sure I already owe you far too many favors as it is, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t, I offered,” Derek tells him, and he leans against the kitchen counter. “It’s not like they wouldn’t buy it.”

“You and me dating?” Stiles scoffs. “Scott would see right through us, my Dad would probably lecture me on how I’m gonna screw up and hurt you, Lydia would… no, she wouldn’t even  _ say _ anything. How likely would it be for me to score  _ you _ of all people.”

“Score?” Derek asks, looking somewhere between offended and amused. “You’re not the scrawny kid anymore, and they have seen the people you dated in the last few years.”

“They’ve seen photos on Facebook,” Stiles replies. “It’s not like I talked to any of them about my relationships. Or the lack of them.” 

“So? That’s just another point for why this would work,” Derek says, and he leans back on the couch. “You said it yourself before, they’ve been asking you about boyfriends and girlfriends, and clearly believe that you have had long term relationships with some of those people.”

“Well, define long term,” Stiles deflects, knowing that he’s losing the argument.

Because Derek is right, and this is why he’s stuck in this situation in the first place. When Scott announced that he’s organising a trip for the whole group that they were back in high school, he made it clear that it was to “get to know our new significant others”. Everyone knew that Erica was as good as engaged, no one questioned that Lydia’s relationship was in the “on” stage for good this time. They all heard enough about Scott’s girlfriend over the years that her sticking around was a given. And Danny’s wedding might have been tiny and without their friend circle -- Danny and his boyfriend got married in Vegas -- but it did happen. 

Stiles would be the only one flying solo, and for several reasons, it isn’t something he is keen on. He knows his friends, and suspects that they’ll jump right into setting him up with whoever they think is suitable. So he needs an out. Only maybe not the kind of out that Derek is suggesting. 

“Would they buy that I’ve come down with something that prevents me from traveling?” Stiles asks, looking pointedly at the muted TV in front of him. “Or maybe my partner has, and I have to stay to take care of them.”

“Would it be such a hardship to pretend you like me?” Derek asks, and even without werewolf senses, Stiles can hear the hurt tone. 

“Dude, no, that’s not…” he blurts out defensively. “But Scott would hear the lies. He’d know it’s pretend.” 

“You’re a good liar, though, and you know how to fool werewolves too,” Derek points out the one thing that Stiles is admittedly proud of. 

“Yeah, but that’s me,” Stiles tells him, glancing over for a second. 

He catches sight of Derek shrugging a shoulder, and it makes him pause and look over properly. 

“You’re a shitty liar though,” Stiles says, and it’s almost a question. 

“Who said I’d be lying?” Derek mumbles under his breath quietly, almost like he’s hoping that Stiles won’t hear the words.

“What?”

“What?”

Derek looks up, and Stiles immediately notices the red tint in his face.

“You… what?” Stiles asks again, his brain processing the information. 

They stare at each other in silence for a few beats, and Stiles runs his mind over the conversation that just happened. There’s only one conclusion he comes to.

“So if you did this favor for me,” ha starts, speaking slowly. “If you went to this stupid couple getaway with me as my boyfriend, you… you wouldn’t be lying about liking me? Or pretending?” 

“Well, I’d pretend you like me back,” Derek says, sounding dejected.

It clicks, and Stiles almost smacks himself in the face for not seeing it. Because Derek really isn’t a good liar. They’ve been housemates for over a year now, and when Stiles thinks back on that time, he can see the signs. He remembers how Derek knows how to make Stiles’ coffee in the mornings, how he always did favors for Stiles without asking anything in return, how he got grumpy when Stiles brought someone over. 

The first reaction Stiles had to the suggestion that they go together was: “I couldn’t pretend for a weekend and not want it to continue”. Because he’s had a crush on Derek since they moved in together. 

“You wouldn’t need to pretend that,” Stiles finally says, his thoughts still a jumbled mess. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Stiles says, and he smiles. “I didn’t think that you…”

“That’s what I thought,” Derek admits.

“So, we have another month until Scott’s stupid trip,” Stiles says. 

He knows he’s blushing, and he’s not sure why he’s nervous about what he wants to ask when he’s sure he already knows the answer.”

“Would you want to go out… with me, I mean?” 

It’s the question he wanted to ask, but it’s Derek who says it first, and Stiles can’t do anything but nod eagerly in response.

**Author's Note:**

>   
> [my tumblr](http://froggydarren.tumblr.com/) || [my sterek fic tumblr](http://triggeringthehealing.tumblr.com/)  
> 


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